Morgan Stanley has launched coverage of Eagle Bulk with an equal-weight rating, suggesting significant upside potential in the company’s stock.

Analyst Fotis Giannakoulis has placed a $6.50 per share target price on the shipowner, which is in the midst of a fleet renewal programme.

Giannakoulis explains the company wiped out $1bn in debt following a restructuring in 2014 and has since been reinvented with one of the strongest balance sheets in the sector.